Sangguniang Kabataan candidate red-tagged via posters spotted in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines – Kabataan Partylist (KPL) Cebu Chapter chairperson John Kyle Enero, a Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) candidate, was red-tagged through posters spotted in Barangay Sambag 1 in Cebu City on Friday, October 27.

Enero told Rappler on Friday afternoon that fellow SK candidates first alerted him about a poster that claimed he was a communist.

“I was notified by our SK chairwoman candidate when they were around the vicinity of the Cebu City Medical Center. They saw the poster there and that was around 7 am to 8 am,” Enero said.

The candidate was shocked to know that another poster was spotted near the University of Cebu-Main SHS Campus.

Based on the text on the poster, it was made by a group that called itself the Cebu Coalition Against Communist Terrorist.

The group also claimed that Enero was a recruiter of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army and alleged that the KPL was a supporter of the CPP-NPA.

Enero’s family members suspected that the red-tagging was an “operation” conducted by candidates from opposing parties. 

Enero believes that this was also meant to silence him as an activist who is running for office.

“The only culprit that could be possibly behind this harassment are state security forces, who have all the motivation and resources to perpetuate such lie and harassment,” Enero said in a statement posted on his social media account.

‘Not the first time’

Enero told Rappler that this was not the first time that he was red-tagged. 

Enero recalled that after the 2022 national and local elections, KPL officers, including himself, were surveilled and harassed by state forces. He shared that he was red-tagged by a suspected state-sponsored troll account on Facebook.

He pointed out that other fellow youth activists have also experienced the same harassment. In Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, Mia Salvador Simon, an aspiring barangay councilor and KPL vice president for Luzon, was red-tagged through flyers falsely portraying her as a member of the CPP-NPA.

In Santiago City, Isabela, Cris Sudaria, an aspiring SK chairperson and member of the KPL Santiago City chapter, was falsely labeled as a “candidate SK chairman of a terrorist group.”

“I also call on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to look into the red-tagging of progressive candidates and hold to account the perpetrators behind what could be defined as electoral violence,” Enero said.

Comelec Central Visayas Regional Director Lionel Marco Castillano said in a text message sent to Rappler on Friday that election-related violence is committed on candidates when force, intimidation, and violence is committed against the candidate, his supporters, and their family members.

Enero confirmed to Rappler that he would a file a blotter at the Sambag 1 barangay hall, hoping to get access to CCTV footage that would help identify the perpetrators.

“In light of these accusations, I reiterate: activists are not terrorists. I am not a terrorist,” Enero said. – Rappler.com